Comeback?

Is this a blogging comeback? I guess that remains to be seen...


I used to be a "Den Mom" and these is a few of my "homeys".

I say "used to be" because I am no more a Den Mom (and yes, I am VERY sad about it and believe it or not I am not being sarcastic (hard to believe)). But now I am on to different "homeys", the 12-13 year old girls in my church.

Life these days

So I do not know if this will be a blogger come-back. But it is definitely a step in the right direction.

We are here in Grand Junction, Colorado and we absolutely love it. Aside from this last weekend (I have been sick all weekend and I am tired of feeling like I have been hit by a Mac truck). There are blue skies on the horizon, I am feeling better.

Here is a quick catch up with the us:

KENNAN - Joined a practice with 5 other doctors and loves it. (read: HUGE sigh of relief). Did you know that over 50% of orthopedic surgeons change practices within the first 2 years of starting? I didn't know that (until last year) and I am happy to say that we will be the part of the statistic that stays with the first group. It was a bit of an adjustment for Kennan to realize that he was "the doctor". Throughout all of his training, he has always had someone looking over his shoulder. And now that is over. I do have to say that he is adjusting well.

ANGIE - What to say? Still doing well. Actually, I am doing great. I love it here in GJ. Great friends. Great place to live with TONS to do. I am sure that you are thinking to yourself, "Grand Junction. I think that I have driven through there on my way from Salt Lake to Denver. All I remember is that there is a whole lot of nothin' and a gas station." Yes, you could be thinking that to yourself (that is what I thought before I moved here). But this place is a glorious place. There are tons of great things that we love to do in our backyard: mountain biking, hiking, skiing, lots and lots of recreating. Kennan and I bought new mountain bikes before we bought furniture. . . okay so we still haven't bought furniture and don't know if we will in the near or not so near future thanks to my sister's hand-me-downs. Whoa! That was a bit of a tangent. We will stop there with my catch up.

KIDS - All doing well. Kids adjusted fantastic to our new house, school and neighborhood. For the first time EVER we are in a neighborhood with kids. Believe it or not, it has been hard for me to get used to. I am not used to kids coming and going. I am not used to my kids being with their friends more than they are with me. I am getting used to it, slowly.

Preston on the terrain park at Powderhorn (a little but fun ski resort close to us).

Everything is still a song and a dance to Lauren. Something that drives her older brother absolutely crazy and something that her mom loves. Here she is singing the Cinderella song while wiping up the floor. It took her about 30 minutes to do a job that should have taken her about 7 minutes.

Here my little thinker is usin' that noggin of hers. All that extra time she used singing, dancing and twirling earlier was easily made up with this system.

One big bonus of no furniture is lots of room to play. I love this action shot. Carter was yelling, "Cannon-ball!" as he hurled himself onto Preston.


So there you have it. Our "Splendid Chaos" in a nut shell.

Change is coming...

I have PROMISED a few people that I would enter the blogging world again (you know who you are). It took me FOREVER to remember how to change things (like my header) but I think it is slowly coming back. I will give an update on our lives soon. I promise. . .

PS - I believe in what I call "creative swiping". Some might call this copying. Some (English majors or professors) might even go so far as to call it plagiarism. Call it what you would like but the new title for our blog is not my creative genius at work. I read it somewhere quite a while ago and it has stuck with me. Those of you who know me well, know that while some things "stick", most things just slip away... When I read the words, "Splendid Chaos" long, long ago, they resonated with me because that is my life. My life ranges in different degrees of chaos, but it is splendid most of the time.

Our Last week in Taos

Our last week in Taos was a good one. We did our very favorite things, one last time. Two of those things were:

FAMILY MOUNTAIN BIKING

We put Carter in the little baby seat and Lauren rides a tag-a-long behind me and off we go. Kennan's ride consists of Carter saying "Bumpy Daddy, bumpy" or "Go fast-wer Daddy!". My ride consists of Lauren squealing with delight or singing. I think that I get the better partner.

HIKING AT TAOS SKI VALLEY

I took this picture on the drive up to the Ski Valley. Lauren was leaning out the window (as much as her seat belt would allow) singing at the top of her lungs. Poor Lauren inherited my screeching ability (a.k.a. singing ability) but her clever, impromptu song-writing skills make up for any voice deficiencies.

We rode the ski lift up the mountain and hiked down. The kids thought it was great to hike down one of their favorite runs.

Move date finalized

Ahhhh, the sweet chaos of moving. We are currently packing up our house in preparation for our move to Grand Junction, Colorado. Lucky for us, we get to have professional movers do it for us this time. The stress level is SOOOO much different this move. They come and pack up our stuff this weekend and the truck pulls away from Taos on Monday. We are staying here until Wednesday because Kennan has to work. We will drive to GJ on Wednesday and close on our house on Thursday. YIPPEE!

This move is such a bitter-sweet experience. This moment has been 16 years in the making - 6 years at BYU, 4 years in med school in California, 1 year internship in Philadelphia, 4 years residency in Michigan, and 1 year fellowship in New Mexico. I always thought I would be crawling out of my skin with excitement at this stage in our lives, but I am not. Don't get me wrong, we are so excited about moving to GJ, we are just so sad to leave the experiences of Taos behind. I am at a loss of words to even describe how I'm feeling. Maybe I'll try again later...Crazy stuff...

Wheeler Peak - the best therapy EVER!

I just experienced the best therapy known to man. Hiking a 13,000 foot mountain! Okay, so I didn't hike all 13,000 feet (wouldn't that be cool if I did??)

Kennan had the day off last Thursday so we got a babysitter and headed for the hills. Wheeler Peak is the highest mountain in New Mexico at 13,161 feet above sea level. We have wanted to hike it together the whole year and we got to do it one-and-a-half weeks before we move from the Enchanted state - how lucky is that?

I was in a foul mood that morning. After about an hour of hiking, Kennan asked me if it was safe to talk yet. I told him I needed another couple of miles. About 30 minutes later, I felt like a whole new woman. Do the outdoors have that effect on anyone else? When we lived in California, I tried to explain the effect that mountains have on me to a friend. She was a member of my church and I told her that other then the temple (a place where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints go to worship in addition to our regular Sunday meetings), the outdoors is the only other place that I am guaranteed to feel peaceful every time I experience it. This gal was the type of person that thought camping was staying in the Marriott instead of the Ritz. She looked at me as if I had truly lost my mind.

Here are a few pictures I took that day:

There were thousands of wildflowers. BEAUTIFUL!!!

We started our hike early because of the afternoon rainstorms that we experience on a daily basis. The early morning dew was still suspended on leaves. When the sun would hit the dew drops just right, they would sparkle like little diamonds. BEAUTIFUL!

Lauren and I discovered these flowers when we were camping a few weeks ago. I have never seen them before. Aren't they BEAUTIFUL? It's like buy one get one free - two flowers for the price of one!

Still lots of snow on parts of the trail. This particular snow patch had to be at least 15 feet deep in some spots. Shortly after this picture was taken, Kennan turned and threw a snowball at me. Luckily, my foul mood had lifted. Even more lucky was that he missed me!

I always have to take a picture like this. For some reason, I love this perspective.

Here we are at the top. YIPPEE! By the way, have you ever seen yourself wearing something in a picture and thought, "Why didn't someone tell me just how not-great I looked in this?" Me too...

So the 4,000 foot assent did not do good things for my legs. I was soar for days. I couldn't sit down without my thighs screaming in pain. Totally worth it, but a bitter reminder of my muscular-LESS legs). Kennan wasn't soar (argh!) nor did he need to stop and to take little breathers as often as I did (double argh!). This is especially irritating when you realize that while Kennan goes to the gym three times a week, his workout usually doesn't include cardio. I am planning on doing a 1/2 marathon next month so I have been running every-other-morning. Is that fair that the (wanna-be) runner of the group was WAY more winded then the non-cardio-boy? I'll let you answer that one.

This was truly a beautiful and spectacular experience. It was super great to spend the entire day with my hubby who let me be grumpy and patiently waited for his "nicer" wife to return. What a gem.

Preston in the Taos Rodeo "Hide Slide" Competition

We went to the Taos Rodeo today and it wasn't much of a rodeo (the calf roping had one contestant as well as the steer wrestling) and we were longing for the days of the Oakley rodeo or the Lehi Round-Up; however, they had many activities for the kids. This activity was demonstrated by the clown riding on the cow hide at a much higher speed and he literally "ate dirt" around the barrel. Even after seeing that Preston wanted to give it a go. We didn't think they would let him do it, but sure enough he put on a bike helmet and went at it with no fear proudly wearing his Utah Jazz jersey like a true cowboy!

20 minute catch-up

I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. I just haven't entered the blogging world for a few months. For the few of you that occasionally check our blog, here is what is going on in our lives (and I am going to try and do this in 20 minutes - yeah right).

GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO

We are moving the end of July. We haven't really talked or thought much about our upcoming move because we love Taos. We haven't been ready to emotionally check out yet. Last week we went house hunting and found a lovely house (complete with a guest room). One of my favorite parts of the house was this pedestal sink. This is the only glimpse of our home you get-if you want more, come visit any time after August!

TAOS

Just one reason why we will REALLY miss this place. I took this picture in May about 100 steps out of our front door. BEAUTIFUL!

CARLSBAD CAVERNS

In southern New Mexico there are some caves that are gi-normous. I know that probably isn't a word but enormous just didn't describe exactly how big these caves are! Just one room in the cave has a perimeter of 1.6 miles. Think of 14 football fields and you have an idea of the size of these caves. You can see the entrance behind the kiddos. We went about a month ago and just today Carter said, "Mom? Big cave is fun, huh?" Good times had by all.

It was REALLY bright when we came out of the caves!

On the way home we drove through Roswell, New Mexico. This is only one of MANY crazy alien paraphernalia found throughout that town. It was pretty comical - definitely worth sharing!

Bet cha didn't know that the real Smokey the Bear was born in New Mexico. He is now buried here. Another pit-stop on our way home from Carlsbad.

PRESTON

A.K.A. "Snaggel-tooth" finally lost another tooth. That thing hung around like that for FAR too long! We came up with lots of different ways to get it out, but he didn't go for any of them.

LAUREN

Oh yeah baby! She is still preparing for a career in fashion creativity (I think that is a better description of just what Lauren does with clothes than fashion designer).

CARTER

I absolutely love this kid. He has taken up calling me "Ang" and dad is "Kennan". Am I a bad mom if I call him bossy at least once a day? Here he is mutilating our pizza dough. No worries - I had enough so we didn't have to use his.

Spring in New Mexico = WIND

Spring in Taos has been beautiful. I love spring. The flowers, the bright-green grass, the budding trees, what is not to love? I have found something. Wind! It is so windy here! The wind in April was fine, I tolerated the wind in May, and now I am just plain sick of it! Today Lauren asked what is good about wind...Trying to be Patty Positive, I told her windmills which she pointed out that there aren't any in Taos. After that, I was stumped! Even Preston couldn't come up with another positive thing about all this stinkin wind. I guess I could have said flying kites :)

CRESTED BUTTE

For Spring Break (way back in April), we went to Crested Butte, Colorado. It was one of my favorite vacations EVER. We skied, swam, ate, and skied. Since we already have ski pictures on our blog, here are some of the other highlights of the trip:

The indoor/outdoor pool was super fun. Even super-cold-water-wimp (that would be me) braved the outdoor pool. Kennan lost a few $$ when he bet the kids to go and lay in the snow for 10 seconds. I didn't play that game.

Easter egg hunts in the hotel room. Lauren loved her Easter dress which she promptly put on. It took Preston forever to find his Easter basket - that Easter Bunny is really clever and hid it in a sneaky spot!

By the way - this took WAY longer then 20 minutes!

Future fashion designer?

Check out these ensembles. . .

Lauren has found her drawers are an unending treasure trove of fun and funky color combinations. Just check out a few of her, ummm, creations. And believe it or not, I let her go out in her consortium of colors.

There have been times in a past life that Lauren would dress herself. She would inevitably end up in something that was the most colorful combination possible. I was fine with her combinations, as long as we weren't going somewhere. If we went somewhere, I would "suggest" that she change one item. It went something like this, "Lauren, would you like to change your shirt into this one that I picked out and go to the store with me?" Then we moved to Taos. There are so many reasons that I love Taos (perhaps that should be a topic of a future blog). Just one of those things is that everyone accepts everyone as they are without judgement. Preston's school is chuck full of kids with bed head and mismatched, wrinkled clothing. Quite frankly, the town has it's fair share of adults who look the same...I have seen kids with dread locks here (and lots of adults too). The town is full of very "Taos-ish" kids, who obviously dress themselves. It is difficult to explain but I find it absolutely and completely refreshing.

Kennan and I have talked about what life will be like when we move away from this place. Will I change back into the mom who cringes when her daughter wears red striped tights, a pink floral skirt with a blue and green shirt under a multi-striped poncho? I hope not. Our house is much happier when Lauren dresses herself and I let her keep on what she chooses. You know the whole, pick your battles thing...

Grand Junction - Here we come!

It is official. Kennan signed the contract to join a group in Grand Junction, Colorado a few weeks ago. He finishes his fellowship the end of July so we will be moving in August.

Here is the story with the Mesa State paraphernalia: Mesa State is the college in Grand Junction. The group Kennan is joining does a lot of work with Mesa State. One of the doctors in the group sent us some "gentle persuasion" for Christmas. When Kennan signed the contract, we made a little "cover letter" with this picture. The group loved it (or at least they said they did...)

I can't believe after 4 years of med school, 1 year of internship, 4 years of residency and 1 year of fellowship, (yes, your math is correct, that makes 10 years after undergrad) HE IS FINALLY FINISHED! It has been a wild ride - but one that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Joy in the journey.

Taos Ski Valley ROCKS!!

This year has been deemed by Kennan as "The Year of George" especially when it comes to skiing. Those of you out there who LOVED Seinfield like we did (and still do) should catch the meaning of that statement. . .

Preston and Lauren have been in ski lessons every Wednesday through Preston's school for the last couple of months. It is FABULOUS on a number of different levels. First and foremost, they have turned into good little skiers. Their confidence levels have grown both on and off the slopes. Another great thing about Wednesday's is that I have been able to go skiing with the kids. Their ski lessons last from 9:00 - 2:30 so I would drop them off and then hit the slopes. I pick them up at 2:30 and we go and ski together for a couple of hours. It has been the best therapy a gal could ever ask for. My dad has always said that skiing "clears the cobwebs" out of the mind. I couldn't agree more!

Lauren is SUCH a cute little skier. As she makes her little turns, she is usually singing some song she has just made up.

Last Saturday, as Preston and I were riding up the ski lift he announced he wanted to go down the "Al's Run" - the run just under the ski lift. It was a very long black diamond run. Kennan said, "Yeah! Take him down it!" I had a very different response - I tried to gently persuade Preston that we should do another run. He insisted...so we did it. He did great! I was amazed.





Preston loves the jumps.

I told him that he jumped so high in this picture, I wasn't able to get his head in the picture. Really, I was just too close, but we wont tell him that. :)

Christmas Cards

If you know me, you know how much I love the whole Christmas card process. I love making our Christmas cards. I love receiving Christmas cards (hint-hint). I love seeing how friends and families have changed. I just love everything about it (except addressing the envelopes). I was a bit distraut this year when I realized that we didn't have a family picture (again). I was even more frustrated when I realized that we had about 2 pictures of all three kids together. No worries I told myself - I'll just take one. I tried MULTIPLE times and Carter didn't want to have anything to do with it. Every time I tried to take his picture, he would shout "NO!" and at the least would turn his back to the camera or even better, he would run the other way. Here are just a few of my attempts to get just the perfect shot...



This is Carter playing the "Go Limp" game. Boy, was that a fun one.












No, we do not have a baboon as a child...










This was one solution, but something just doesn't look quite right...








We went on a walk just after it had snowed. I thought to myself what a great Christmas card picture-all of us bundled up like one big happy, cozy family. I wanted to see if Carter would let me take his picture so I said, "Carter, say cheese!" He promptly turned away from the camera...









The picture I used for our card was nice - it just wasn't quite what I had invisioned. Better luck next year!

The finished product!

Taaa-Dahhhh!

Gingerbread Chaos

For Family Home Evening tonight we made our Gingerbread House (donated to us by Grandma & Grandpa Brenchley). The festivities started out with me trying to assemble the house and hearing Lauren say, "Oops Mom. It was an accident." She had "accidentally" snapped one side of the roof in half. Kennan fixed the problem with some toothpicks. Shortly after we started decorating, Carter fell off his chair and landed very hard on our very hard brick floor (yes, there was an audible bonk when his head hit the floor). After that, it got really fun! Actually, the kids had a ball and thoroughly enjoyed making their gingerbread house! Check out that concentration...

Carter turns 2!

The little terror has officially entered into the realm of the 2-year old. That is a bitter-sweet thing. It's sweet because the world of a 2-year old is all about discovery. Watching that discovery process occur can be priceless. The bitter part comes in to play when the little munchkin discovers things like...he is too small to go poop in the potty with the help of Lauren (yes, the brown stuff was everywhere and no, I'm not thinking of potty-training him yet. Lauren might be though.) Sweet=when Carter is enthralled with the ornaments on the Christmas tree and stares at them forever with a look of wonder and amazement on his face. Bitter=when he tries to take an ornament off the tree and it doesn't come. He pulls and pulls and yes, the entire tree falls over breaking many of those ornaments that he was once enamored with.

We could go on forever. Lucky for him and me, at the end of the day he goes to sleep and looks like an angel - all is forgiven.

His birthday party was all about trucks and trains - which he loved (sweet).

Check out the CUTEST skirt ever!

My super-duper extra talented sister (Cindy) made Lauren's Halloween skirt. If you want a special little gal to look this cute in one, Cindy is selling them and has quite an array (including Christmas skirts). Email me and I'll get you the details: pkvance2@hotmail.com